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Michael Mina’s RN74 will experience a chef change in the coming weeks: Executive chef Jason Berthold, who has been aboard the stylish SoMa restaurant since it opened in April 2009, will be leaving this spring. He will be replaced by Adam Sobel, who comes from within the Michael Mina empire; Sobel is currently the chef at Bourbon Steak in Washington, DC. Prior to that, Sobel worked high up the ladder at some Las Vegas restaurants, as chef de cuisine at Restaurant Guy Savoy (when it won two Michelin stars) and as executive chef at Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood.

Sobel starts at RN74 on April 1. Berthold will remain in the kitchen through the transition, until at least April 15. Word on the street is Berthold — who has worked at Per Se, French Laundry and several other Mina properties — is working on a project of his own in the Bay Area; stay tuned for more details on that development.

Update, 4:15 p.m.: Berthold is indeed working on a project of his own, though it’s not a done deal quite yet. He and a partner have put an offer on a space in San Francisco, but are waiting for the final signatures. He says that he’s leaving the Mina empire in good spirits (Mina is supportive of his decision, he notes) and a large reason for his decision is parenthood.

“I became a father seven months ago, and it gives you a different perspective on things. I’ve been cooking for 17 years now and the things I learned over the last 4 years are invaluable,” he says.

“It came down to a personal decision. I needed to be in a more intimate environment,” he continues. “I don’t want to use the word smaller or anything like that, but a different sense of fulfillment that I wasn’t receiving in this environment.”

If he gets the aforementioned space, it would require a full build-out and could open by early fall, but again, that’s all still TBD. However, the fine dining veteran is looking to shift away from highly composed cooking.

“To say that it’ll be more casual and rustic is definitely appropriate,” he says. “Bigger, bombastic flavors but still in that realm of traditional French cooking.”

And of course, wine will play a big role: “I have a really strong passion and interest in wine, and realm of making food for wine and wine for food, wine but we’re going to strip down the formalities of it.”